New

During our time at the lake, our team spent a lot of time with the cooks, Claudio and Alida. They are a married couple who own a small restaurant in Antigua and are good friends with the long term team. Our team loved every moment we got to spend learning from them in the kitchen. 

On our second to last day in San Juan, an announcement was made that Claudio and Alida wanted to be baptized at the lake with all of us there. 

And the crowd went wild. 

Bursts of claps, screams, hollers, and cheers, came from the group of seventy. Jonathan then said that if anyone else felt lead to be baptized it would be a perfect time. "The Lord has called me personally to be baptized two or three times. Sometimes just because I'm entering a new season." 

I thought about it all night. I wanted to be baptized in Guatemala with my new family. 

The next morning Claudio and Alida were baptized. 

WAHOOOOOOOOOOOO.  

New life!!

Because of their boldness, this happened:

And this: 

And then, this: 

It went on for two hours. 

There were so many beautiful stories of why people were choosing to be baptized. Each person was washing something different off and rising into something new. 

For me, I was washing off a lot. Most of all, the fear of this ending. This season, in Guatemala, has been incredible. The kids at the hospital, our students at school, and the grandpas at the old folks home, made our ministry days so fun. The nights spent in worship at the base were refreshing and powerful. Our team time was valuable, sometimes hard, but always good. We learned more Spanish, tried new foods, went to the beach, stayed at the lake, hiked a volcano, and met everyday people. In the past three months I also heard the Lord's voice more clearly than ever, saw Jesus in children who can't speak, captured a bigger glimpse of the heart of the Father, had fears of eternity calmed by a two year old, watched an old man dance over receiving his first whole bible, experienced a deeper community, had my views changed on what church is, and fell more deeply in love with my creator. 

This season was incredible, but it's over. It's time for new beginnings, new lessons, miracles, trials, revelations, and encounters. 

It's time for a new season. 

When deciding to to get baptized I had all these things in mind. I washed away the fear of what this new season holds. I also released the tight grip I had on the season spent here in Guatemala. I came up into peace and freedom. I came out of the water ready for what's next. 

I love Guatemala deeply but I'm being called back to the states. I'm being called into a new season. 

Don Manuel

The night we went back to the AIM base, I had a conversation with one of the men on the team who is originally from Guatemala. We talked about what it means to see people in the spirit, not in the flesh, but in the spirit. When I expressed my frustrations with a few encounters with Guatemalan men, he changed my perspective. "Look at those men as brothers" 

Phew. 

Javier continued to talk about seeing people in the spirit by showing me a picture he had taken :

 We both stood in front if his computer screen and he told me to look at this man in the spirit. He waved his hand in front of his face and said, " Don't look at this." He then asked me what I saw. 

Purity? I had no idea. 

He walked away, leaving me in front of the screen staring at this stunning picture of an old wrinkled man. A while later he returned and I still wasn't sure what I saw in this picture. What was The Lord trying to tell me about this particular picture? I still wasn't completely sure. So Javier explained the image. 

Manuel was the man pictured. He's in his eighties and lives up in the mountains. When Javier ran into this man, it was very early in the morning and no one was on the streets. Manuel was carrying several wood angles he had made. He ventured from his village all the way to Antigua just to sell these angels. Javier described Manuel's smile as one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen, which to me was odd because in the picture he seemed serious. When he asked to take Manuel's picture, he agreed and asked if he could hold his product in the picture. 

Looking at the picture later, the spirit revealed a deep revelation to Javier. 

"Angels do not get to be held by the Father the way we do." 

Wait, what?

We are held by the father in a way the angels crave. They are not held the way we are. They are not loved the way we are. 

Woah.

I went home that night shocked by this new revelation. This new idea that I had never thought about before was rocking me. 

I was in awe of the Father. 

Complete awe.

The next morning started with Luis informing us a group of 60 people were moving into the house that weekend. We were struck with overwhelming feelings of discomfort. We had been living with only four people in the house for two months and now 60 were going to move in? 

People started showing up to the house later that morning to clean and prepare for the coming group. I was still overwhelmed and needed to clear my mind, so Ali and I went into town. 

On the bus ride into town my mind was running rapidly and my emotions varied. 

Javi revealed something huge to me that I was still processing, we were asked to lead Sunday school in a church that has 3 hour long services, we had invited the base over for a party that evening, and  we were still trying to understand how life was going to be with 60 teens in the house. 

Overload. 

I felt heavy. There was so much. Some good and some not so good. I needed relief. I needed Jesus. 

We spent the afternoon in town making photocopies for Sunday school and eating our favorite foods. We decided to try a coffee shop that someone had suggested to us that was on the way to the bus stop. 

A young man passed us trying to sell us something and we responded out of habit "No gracias". I walked away and suddenly realized what the bit was selling. 

Wooden Angles. 

I turned back quickly to see an old man crossing the street holding several of the angles in a pack on his back. I looked at Ali shocked.

Manuel. 

We chased after the two men, shaking with excitement. As Manuel turned I suddenly knew exactly what Javier was talking about. 

His smile was truly one of the most beautiful things. 

I told him that we had heard of him through a friend. Our conversation was very brief but it lead to a day full of smiles. I bought an angel from the two joyful men and walked away praising my king. That encounter was exactly what I needed to make it through that day. 

The Lord's timing is perfect. 

The end.